Leveraging Economic Opportunities Final Performance Report

This report presents key activities, lessons learned, and accomplishments of the Leveraging Economic Opportunities (LEO) project. Over the course of three years (October 1, 2013 – November 13, 2016), LEO served as USAID’s primary vehicle for learning in the area of market systems approaches and a convener of knowledge and best practices amongst its implementing partners. Leveraging the expertise of a diverse array of specialists and practitioners around the globe, LEO pushed the boundaries of market systems theory, translating it into practice by bringing stakeholders together in a variety of mediums and locales, developing capacity building guides and toolkits, producing frameworks to help make sense of complex ideas and approaches, and conducting assessments and advisory services in real-world markets, Mission contexts, and projects.

LEO’s primary purpose was to deepen and widen the capacity of USAID staff and its development partners to use evidence-based, good practices to design new projects and activities that promote inclusive market development, effectively manage their implementation, and evaluate their results.